Yahoo! Begins Lay Offs of 2,000 Employees – Tech Thursday

Yesterday was not a happy day at Yahoo in Silicon Valley. The first of 2,000 employees were let go with an apologetic letter from CEO Scott Thompson. This is all part of a restructuring of the company to change course and go in a new direction.

In a statement, Thompson said "Today we are restructuring Yahoo! to give ourselves the opportunity to compete and win in our core business. The changes we're announcing today will put our customers first, allow us to move fast, and to get stuff done. The outcome of these changes will be a smaller, nimbler, more profitable Yahoo! better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require."

This is the sixth time in 4 years that Yahoo has done lay offs, all under 3 different CEOs. The first cut backs were in 2008 when Yahoo let 1,500 employees go to stem the deep recession that had hit the company. But this one is the biggest yet for the search company.

Thompson went on to say that it was a tough descison to make to reach the goal they have set. The statement went on to say, "We value our people and for those who will be leaving, we thank you for all you have contributed to Yahoo!. We will treat all of our people with dignity and respect, providing resources to help manage through their transition."